Cooking for One. Cooking for You!​ I am Jennifer, Como Park resident and Homemaker for the Block Nurse program. Sharing food with neighbors started within hours of moving to the neighborhood. It was a hot July day and my new neighbors across the street brought over fruit salad and brownies. I knew I would love this neighborhood!

Over the years, talking about food and sharing food with neighbors has meant sharing when there is too much in the garden harvest; “borrowing” when there aren’t enough eggs in fridge to finish making those cookies; eating a casserole made for tired new parents; sending a nourishing meal to a grieving neighbor; the Block Party where cookies flow with the good conversations. Much of the time, preparing food and eating is a communal endeavor but as I have met more neighbors through the Block Nurse Program, I hear common questions about cooking for one. Cooking for You!

Cooking for one happens at different times in our lives: The 24-year old living on her own for the first time; the teenager home during the summer needing meals and snacks while his parents are at work; the married couple with different work schedules; the single parent whose kids are at their other parent’s house; the senior after their spouse has passed away or needed assisted living.

My future blogs will share recipes, tips and stories from around the neighborhood (and beyond) centered on cooking for one. The most important “one”, after all, is You!